Sacrifice
by Sarahjane
Summary: One of my AU ideas...read and review please!


DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, blah, blah, blah, you know the drill...  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a little different, but the idea came to me one night, and I thought that I should write it down.  
  
Sacrifice  
  
Anakin Skywalker felt hate surge through his veins as he advanced on Obi-Wan. Lightsabers crashed as the two fought. Obi-Wan was a skilled dueler, but Anakin's hate and adrenaline had pushed him over the edge, and the eighteen-year-old had never fought better.  
  
Sweat flowed down his face. Obi-Wan refused to budge, managing somehow to block every one of his strikes. Anakin felt a surge of anger at his former friend, and used this to drive Obi-Wan further back. Obi-Wan was forced to scramble away from Anakin, desperately blocking Anakin's advancing blade.  
  
A smile passed over Anakin's face like a shadow. The battle was going well. He could do it. He could defeat his teacher for once and for all. No, not teacher...Obi-Wan had lied to him all the time. The Dark Side wasn't the wrong path, it was the path of those strong enough to handle it. Obi-Wan was weak, and Anakin cursed him for it.  
  
Part of his mind cried at the thought of striking Obi-Wan down. He had cared for him for so long...teaching him, helping him, being a friend...  
  
Anakin crushed those thoughts. He was strong. He couldn't let weakness win. He had to fight it. That was what the Sith told him. He was strong. He could win. He *would* win.  
  
The two continued across the large exercise room. Obi-Wan hadn't expected anything; he had merely asked Anakin if he wanted to practice. Little did he know that this would be the real thing...  
  
Anakin could feel his body working smoothly, without his having to control it at all. This was so easy, as natural to him as podracing or piloting a ship.  
  
Suddenly he felt himself about to lunge. His mind screamed...  
  
...and Obi-Wan fell.  
  
Anakin felt numb for a moment; then a roaring sound filled his ears, and he felt himself blasted into reality, feeling the full horror of what he had done.  
  
"Master!" he cried, kneeling on the ground. "Master, speak to me."  
  
Obi-Wan's eyes were open, but staring blankly up. They focused for a moment on Anakin. "Ani..." he whispered.  
  
"Hold on," Anakin begged. "Please, just hold on. I'll get help." He jumped up and ran out. "HELP!" he screamed as he tore down the hall. "HELP!"  
  
He nearly knocked Mace Windu off his feet. "Anakin! Where are you going in such a hurry?"  
  
Anakin grabbed Mace's arm like he was a life preserver. "Please, you have to help! Obi-Wan's hurt! W-we were dueling, and..." He was unable to finish the thought, torn by the realization at what he had done.  
  
Mace didn't wait for him to finish. He ran down the hall with Anakin close at his heels. The two men raced back to the room.  
  
Obi-Wan was still staring at the ceiling, blinking slowly. His breathing was sharp and ragged, and his forehead was creased in pain.  
  
"Obi-Wan, can you hear me? It's Mace. I'm going to take you to the healer's now."  
  
Anakin thought that he detected a slight nodding of his head. *At least he's still alive,* Anakin thought. *For now.*  
  
*****  
  
Anakin was finally allowed to see Obi-Wan several hours later. By then everyone knew that he had purposely hurt him. He was facing review by the council later. Now, though, he just had to see Obi-Wan.  
  
Pain filled his soul. Anakin felt horrible; on the one hand he was shocked and horrified that he had hurt Obi-Wan. On the other hand he felt anger and pain pound through his body. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to help people and be a Jedi like Obi-Wan, but he knew that he could never do that. He wasn't good enough. He was filled with too much darkness to let the light rule his life.  
  
He tiptoed in to see Obi-Wan. His master lay on a bed surrounded by medical equipment. His eyes were closed. His shirt had been removed, and his wound had been cleaned and dressed. Anakin saw that his lightsaber had entered somewhat awkwardly, slicing through part of his lung, but missing his heart. That was probably the only reason he was still alive, but Anakin knew that death loomed over Obi-Wan's shoulder, just waiting to take him.  
  
Obi-Wan's eyes fluttered open as Anakin came near. "Ani?" he muttered groggily.  
  
"Obi-Wan! Y-you're awake!" Anakin gasped. "D-do you remember what happened?"  
  
Obi-Wan nodded slightly.  
  
"I-I'm so sorry, Master!" Anakin cried. "I'm so sorry. You have to believe me! I never wanted to hurt you! I'm sorry. I'll do anything. Please, just get better. Please don't die. I'm sorry."  
  
Obi-Wan didn't say anything for a while. After a moment, he whispered, "I forgive you, Ani."  
  
Anakin was shocked. "You forgive me? How can you? I almost killed you!"  
  
"I know that you are basically good deep down, Ani. I know that you didn't mean for this to happen. I forgive you. Now you must forgive yourself."  
  
"How? I almost killed you, Master!"  
  
Obi-Wan's eyes began to droop. "I have given you forgiveness, Padawan. Now you must forgive yourself."  
  
*****  
  
Anakin mulled over his master's words. How could he ever forgive himself? How could Obi-Wan forgive him so easily?  
  
He must have dozed off during the night. He woke up around midnight when something jerked him awake.  
  
He looked up and blinked in shock. "Obi-Wan! You're all right!"  
  
Obi-Wan smiled. "I'm fine now, Ani."  
  
"Oh, I was so afraid that you would..."  
  
"Die? Well, I'm afraid that you were right."  
  
"You mean...you're dead?"  
  
"Yes, that's right."  
  
"But you said that you were fine!"  
  
"I am fine. I'm dead. No more pain, hurt, sorrow, remorse...I'm better off than you are in that respect."  
  
"What do you mean in that respect?"  
  
He looked Anakin straight in the eyes. "Anakin, you are alive. Never forget that. Life is precious. In that respect you are much better off than I am. Air fills your lungs. The Force flows through you. You are alive."  
  
"But I killed you! I don't deserve to live."  
  
"Life is a gift, Anakin, the greatest gift of all. I suppose in some way none of us deserve such a remarkable gift. Yet it is bestowed upon you. You can't waste this gift."  
  
Obi-Wan grew more solemn. "You are at a crossroad in your life. You are standing at a point where your life can take one of two paths. Either you can forget what I have taught you and absorb the teachings of the Sith. You can stop the appreciation of life and instead cause death and suffering. You can quit trying to find the light in yourself and instead embrace the darkness that lurkes in you--that lurkes in all of us."  
  
"What? H-how did you know...?"  
  
"I'm dead, remember? There are no more secrets from me. I see much more clearly now. You have a choice to make now, Anakin. Which are you going to choose? Are you going to embrace the darkness inside of you, or will you instead choose the path of the light side of the Force?"  
  
And as his spectral image faded before Anakin's eyes, Anakin cried out, "Wait! Please don't go!"  
  
But all he heard in response was the gentle movement of the air around him.  
  
*****  
  
Anakin awoke sprawled in bed. The sunlight came in through the window and left a square of light on the blankets. Yet it also created a shadow that fell over the rest of him.  
  
He lay in bed, staring at the light and shadow for quite a while. Then he slowly rose to his feet, showered and dressed, and went to see the council.  
  
They were even more serious than usual. They stared at him, all of them wearing identical grim expressions.  
  
"Padawan Anakin Skywalker, are you aware of why you are here before us today?" Mace asked.  
  
"Yes, I am," he said.  
  
"You have touched the Dark Side of the Force," Mace continued. "You have killed your master, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"You do not deny these charges?"  
  
"No sir."  
  
"Very well then. Have you anything to say in your defense?"  
  
Anakin paused for a moment before replying. "My actions were inexcusable. I await whatever punishment you seem fit."  
  
"Made your peace, you have," Yoda commented.  
  
"Yes sir," Anakin replied. He felt oddly calm. Was this how it felt to be a Jedi? Had Obi-Wan felt this strength and balance all the time? It was a comforting feeling, not intoxicating like the feel of the Dark Side, but warm and safe.  
  
"More at peace you are than I have ever seen you," Yoda added. "Surround you the Dark Side does no longer." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Free you are from its influence."  
  
Anakin did not respond because, in a way deeper than words could express, he felt the truth in Master Yoda's words.  
  
"The boy must be punished for his actions," Mace interjected.  
  
Anakin jumped in. "With your permission, I would like to undergo the trials."  
  
"What? You cannot possibly be ready for the trials!" Mace exclaimed.  
  
"Master Kenobi believed that I was ready," Anakin responded, "except for my anger. I have conquered it, and I am now ready to be a Jedi. I want nothing more than to be a Jedi Knight. Please do not take this dream away from me."  
  
Yoda did not speak for a while. "Ready I believe you are," he finally said. "Take the trials you may."  
  
"Master Yoda, with all due respect, do you really think that it wise to allow him to do so?" Mace asked.  
  
"Safe to let him be a Jedi it is. Otherwise more temptation will the Dark Side offer."  
  
"I will never succomb to that again," Anakin promised.  
  
"Ready he is also," Yoda continued. "See this you must."  
  
At last Mace nodded, as did the rest of the council. "You may take the trials, Padawan Skywalker," Mace said. "Good luck."  
  
*****  
  
Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker stood on a balcony high above Coruscant. He felt a part of all of the people down below; he felt one with the Living Force that surrounded him. He was at peace. The darkness that had ruled him for so long had retreated, and the light now shone through. He knew that it always would.  
  
A figure in black robes came up to him. "Excellent," the old man smiled. "You have done well, my young apprentice. Now to continue your training..."  
  
"I will not continue my training with you," Anakin said.  
  
"What? You must be joking."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
His words conveyed the strength of his will. "But think of all the power that you could have...and the revenge...you could finally have your revenge..."  
  
Anakin moved to leave. Before he did, he turned and spit in his face. Shocked, the saliva ran down the Sith lord's face as Anakin left the dark balcony forever. 


End file.
